Adem Yze (born 21 September 1977)[3] is an Australian rules footballer of Albanian descent. He was educated at Galvin Park Secondary College in Werribee,Victoria. He has made the third highest number of appearances in the history of the Melbourne Football Club.[4]
[edit] Melbourne career
Taken at #16 in the 1994 National AFL Draft, and debuting in 1995 with the Melbourne Demons, he has been an almost permanent fixture with the club throughout his career. He has remained remarkably consistent in this time, moving from half back to the midfield and in recent years has moved between half forward and half back. Yze led the league in kicks in 2001, 2002 and 2004, while coming third behind Scott Camporeale and Nathan Buckley in 2000.
In 2007, Yze found struggling with his form over the pre-season. After a disappointing performance against St Kilda in Round 1, his streak of 226 consecutive AFL appearances was put to an end, with Melbourne decided to drop him for the Round 2 game against Hawthorn.[5] Yze was then selected for Melbourne's Round 4 match against Fremantle and picked up a career-high 38-possessions[3] and kicked 1 goal, being named as one of the best on ground for the day. Despite seeing very little first-team action in 2008 - the last year of his contract at Melbourne, Yze has declared his intention to continue playing football, even if that means he enters the draft, or plays at VFL level. At 30, Yze feels he could play on for another two or three years.[6]
Due to Melbourne Football Clubs youth policy introduced at the end of Season 2008, Adem was delisted after only six senior appearances for the year, in which he kicked 5 goals. However these six games allowed Yze to notch up 300 senior appearances, which resulted in him gaining Lifetime AFL Membership. Yze expressed his desire to play on at another AFL club in Season 2009 declaring he would apply for the preseason draft, yet he conceded he had "stuff all" chances of being picked up by another club. However Yze declared he would play on regardless in 2009, even if it was at a suburban club, such as East Burwood, where his brother Damian Yze plays. Yze will play with the Box Hill Hawks, which is aligned with Hawthorn in 2009. [1]
[edit] Playing style
Yze is known for his straight kicks and ability to kick goals from seemingly-impossible angles. He has kicked five goals in a game on five occasions.[7] He is a creative forward and comes from the Victorian country town of Shepparton, being one of the AFL players along with Shaun Hart and Jason Trianidis to hail from Shepparton United Football Club in the Goulburn Valley Football League. His honours as a player include All-Australian selection in 2002, winning the Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Memorial Trophy for Melbourne's Best and Fairest player in 2001, representing Australia in the International Rules Series 2002 and playing in the 2000 Grand Final against Essendon. He took one of the marks of the year in Round 21 of 2006 against Geelong, leaping onto Josh Hunt's shoulders and taking a brilliant chest mark while falling forward, over Hunt, with the commentator screaming "Yze-lenko you beauty!" (in reference to Alex Jesaulenko's famous mark). Though he sprained his wrist while trying to support the fall and later admitted he might need to get some tips from high flyer Russell Robertson on how to land correctly in such a situation.
He is also noted as being one of very few Muslims to play Aussie Rules professionally, although he does not actively practise Islam.[8] Fellow Muslim, Bachar Houli, has stated that he hopes to follow in Yze's footballing footsteps.[9]
[edit] References
- ^ FootyWire.com Adem Yze of the Melbourne Demons Player Profile and AFL Stats, FootyWire.com, August 12, 2008.
- ^ MelbourneFC.com.au Players, Official AFL Website of the Melbourne Football Club, August 12, 2008.
- ^ a b MelbourneFC.com.au Player Profile - Adem Yze, Official AFL Website of the Melbourne Football Club, August 12, 2008.
- ^ AFL Tables AFL Tables - Adem Yze - Statistics, AFL Tables, August 12, 2008.
- ^ Sheridan, N. & Cusick, S., Yze axed, games record tilt over, The Age, April 8, 2007.
- ^ Stevens, M. Veteran Adem Yze in no hurry to hang up boots, Herald Sun, July 18, 2008.
- ^ StatsZone.com.au Adem Yze career stats and bio, StatsZone.com.au, August 12, 2008.
- ^ News.com.au Laidley hopes forwards hold, Herald Sun, May 10, 2007.
- ^ Schwarz, L. Footy's newest star finds his fans from afar, The Age, May 12, 2007.
[edit] External links
